ceorl

[ chey-awrl ]

noun

, Obsolete.

1. churl ( def 4 ).

ceorl

/ tʃɛəl /

noun

1. a freeman of the lowest class in Anglo-Saxon England

Derived Forms

• ˈceorlish, adjective

Other Words From

• ceorlish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ceorl¹

before 1000; this form borrowed (17th century) < Old English

Word History and Origins

Origin of ceorl¹

Old English; see churl

Example Sentences

‘Come, stand before me, Ceorl!’ he said.

From Literature

Moreover, in the laws of the Wessex king, Ine, the value of a man’s oath is expressed in hides, the oath for a king’s thegn being probably worth 60 hides and that of a ceorl 5 hides.

From Project Gutenberg

And when we come to Saxon evidence, we shall see how intimately the condition of the ceorl connects itself with the state of the villain along the main lines and in detail.

From Project Gutenberg

The disappearance of ceorl may be accounted for by the important fact that it was primarily the designation of a free man, and had not150 quite lost this sense even in the time immediately before the Conquest.

From Project Gutenberg

Now it is not a word transplanted by the Conquest; it was in use before the Conquest as the Latin equivalent of ceorl, geneat, and probably geb�r.

From Project Gutenberg